Spirit Guide of the day is Butterfly! Relax! Try not to stress so much and stop taking everything so serious. This may be aided by wearing bright colors. You may have a big change coming up in your life that may mean an old habit or way of thinking will be released and replaced with a new one. Remember these changes are healthy and important so go with it and work to transform for the better. Everything passes and so will the hardship of change. The Butterfly guide is known for its connection to the joy of dance and transformation. This spirit guide is one of the most powerful for metamorphosis and change. If Butterfly has shown up in your life, this means that you may need to take a look at yourself and your environment and see if you need to make an adjustment. In China, the butterfly was used as a sign for bliss while in the Hopi tradition, unmarried girls of the butterfly clan wore their hair in the shape of butterfly wings. To the Native Americans, the butterfly is a symbol of color, joy, and change. You may need to research about what butterfly comes to you including the significance of their color. Study into the Faerie Realm may aid in what you need to understand as butterflies are naturally associated with the wonders of the Faeries. On the lighter side of this guide, Butterflies remind us of the dance of life. To bring joy and lightness into our interactions. Growth does not have to be painful, but can light us up with passion and renewed energies. People who connect with Butterfly can be flighty individuals who attract others easily at times, although they do not form strong attachments to others easily. These individuals often have a love for colors and design with an appreciation for the natural cycles of life and transformation. They do not do well in toxic environments, but are able to change and adjust to the situations around them.

Butterflies, Rhopalocera, are winged insects of the order Lepidoptera which includes their relatives the moth. It is unknown exactly how many butterflies exist for their are over 17,000 various species alone. The smallest known butterfly is the Blue Pygmy found in southern California that has a tiny wingspan of only half an inch. New Guinea's Queen Alexandra's birdwing is the largest species with an incredible 12 inch wingspan. The illustration here features a Eastern Tiger Swallowtail which is native to eastern North America. Butterflies can be found all over the world excluding Antarctica. Some species of butterfly will migrate short distances to avoid adverse conditions, however, others such as monarch butterflies will travel thousands of miles. This incredible migration is well known for the vast amount of monarchs that will travel to their winter hibernation in Mexico and Southern California from various areas of the United States. Butterflies have adapted many ways to defend their tiny forms against the many predators around them. Some butterflies have developed a chemical defense such as toxic chemicals in it's body. Predators are alerted to this by the extra bright colors the butterfly possesses. Many predators have learned through association that their bright colors mean only nasty tastes. The Monarch and Pipevine Swallowtail are two species that will eat poisonous plants as caterpillars that enable them to become toxic as adult butterflies. Some species of butterfly have grown similar patterns and colors to mimic the poisonous species and benefit from the extra safety even though they are not actually poisonous. The Viceroy is a monarch mimic while the Red-spotted purple butterfly mimics the Pipevine Swallowtail. Other defense mechanisms include cryptic coloration, or the ability to disguise themselves in ways such looking like leaves or blending into the bark of a tree. These butterflies are often more earthly or dark colors. The life cycle of a butterfly goes through many changes. They begin as an egg laid by the female on a plant such as the underside of leaves. Depending on the conditions and species, it can take between a few days to even years for these eggs to hatch. Once they do, the tiny caterpillars begin to eat the plant they were laid on and goes through several sheddings of its skin as it grows. When they are ready, the caterpillar will find a secluded spot where they will suspend themselves by silken threads and sheds one last time. This last shedding reveals a skin that is harder than the last and will harden further into the chrysalis or pupa. The species of the butterfly will determine the amount of time before the now fully developed adult butterfly emerges. They will take time to dry their newly grown wings before being able to fly. This adult butterfly will live an average lifespan of 20-40 days, however, some species can live as little as three days or as long as six months. Butterflies have a range of physical features specially adapted for their life. They have a diet that consists of leaves and their own eggshell as a caterpillar, only a few species such as the Harvester caterpillar eating meat such as woolly aphids. As butterflies, they will only sip liquid food such as the nectar of flowers using their tube-like proboscis, or flexible, long tongue. When not in used, it will coil up out of the way. A few butterflies will even sip liquid from rotting fruits. A rare few species of butterfly with even drink from rotting animals such as the Harvestor butterfly that will continue to feed on woolly aphids as an adult, piercing their bodies with their sharp proboscis to drink the bodily fluids. These insects have 3 body parts; the head, thorax, and abdomen. Their tiny bodies are covered in an exoskeleton made of chitin, a type of protein. They possess compound eyes and two pairs of large wings covered in overlapping rows of scales that connect to their thorax. Butterflies can only fly if their body temperature is above 86 degrees, sometimes requiring time in the sun to warm them up enough to fly in cool weather. Some species of butterfly can reach speeds up to 30 mph, while others only reach around 5 mph.